In the sections that follow we suggest where to
look for people with disabilities to advise on accessible
practices. The list below provides a starting point by suggesting organizations that can help you identify potential advisors. As you build relationships with advisors,
you will find connections to more individuals and organizations in
your area. Below, we have included excerpts from interviews with
three advisors who describe their relationships with science
centers. In "Behind the Scenes," several museum
professionals describe their relationships with access
advisors.

Where to Look for Advisors

The following sources can help you recruit
people with various disabilities to work with you as advisors.

Friends of friends

Personnel at the office for students with disabilities at local
colleges or universities

Local or state service organizations (United Way, United
Cerebral Palsy, Veterans, for example)

NICHCY State Resources Sheets
that list municipal offices and local accessibility advocacy
groups.

Advisors Describe Their Relationships with Science Centers

Ann Holmblad lives in Vermont where for
more than a decade she has assisted communities in coming together
to look at improvements to arts and recreation programs and
facilities for people with disabilities. She recently completed a
project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts that involved
numerous access inventories of Vermont arts institutions. Holmblad
uses a manual wheelchair.

Q: What is your approach as an
advisor?Ann: I take the attitude that I'm here to help you. I try to
build on the museum's interest. That interest may be to increase
audience, the revenue new audiences bring in. So it could be
economic or short- or long-range goals.

Q: What has been your experience with
various museum staff?Ann: Basically, there are two main styles or personalities:
those who see quickly or over time that accessibility can be
integrated into what they are already doing and those who see
change as an addition and as a burden. For the former, it's "Oh,
yeah, I see how we can help," whereas the latter have difficulty
being creative. Sometimes this second group seems to me to express
the feelings that they are "above" or "beyond" accessibility
issues.

Most people do "get it," but then you come back
and the people you worked with have moved on to other jobs and you
have to start again.

Q: What do you want to hear from science
center staff calling to ask for your help?Ann: Two things. I want to have the sense that they have
goals and that they want to take some action. In other words, that
there's a commitment. Even when I am paid for consulting, I want to
feel my ideas are being paid attention to; I want to feel there
will be some impact. Which gets to my second point. I want to hear
that they are seriously interested in building a relationship
between their institution and the community.

Q: How do you like to work?Ann: I like to work as a member of a team that includes
people with various disabilities. People are different, even people
who use wheelchairs. Using a team makes for a more rounded
perspective. In addition to being part of a team, it helps when
looking at exhibits to start with some hands-on time. I've found
that as we explore the exhibit together, each of us lets down our
guard and we start to brainstorm. Exploring the exhibit together is
an opportunity to become comfortable with each other. Soon we are
being creative about access. Also, and this may be different for
others, because I am consulting I expect a stipend or, at the
least, for my mileage to be reimbursed.

Irma Shore was the director of Access to
Art, a program of the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City
where she continues to live. She has trained museum docents and
carried out facility, exhibit, and program access inventories.
Shore uses a motorized wheelchair and is legally blind. Asked to
describe her experiences as a member on a team conducting a
facility access inventory, she responded:

It is difficult to write a complete "job
description" for an individual who will be part of a team
conducting an access inventory of a facility and its exhibitions,
but I'll try. The advisor, ideally, has an understanding and
interest in the survey; is clear on the specific need for the
survey; is clear exactly what he/she is being asked to do; has an
understanding of the ADA guidelines and reasons for them; has an
understanding of the difference between personal preference and
minimum regulation standards; is willing to demonstrate to other
team members the why behind specific measurements; and is willing
to be part of a whole team in an effort to help the museum meet ADA
compliance.

Deborah Leuchovius, an advisor for the
Accessible Practices Project, works with museums in St. Paul
and Minneapolis. She shared her thoughts:

Just being a person with a disability doesn't make
you necessarily a good advisor on disability issues. I agree with
Ann's approach of choosing consultants who can identify with people
with specific disabilities and has related expertise. Advisors may
serve on a team to conduct an access inventory or as a member of
focus group, depending on the amount of time and commitment
expected of them.

Regarding other issues museum staff needs to
consider, I'll start with "To pay or not to pay?" I would recommend
paying advisors a stipend as it helps insure a certain amount of
expertise, commitment and follow through. Also, be sure to maintain
the relationship with advisors over time in order to keep up the
momentum. To help do that, determine who will have responsibility
for initiating regular contact  a museum staff person or the
advisor? Both parties are likely to be busy and too often access
issues of museum professionals and volunteer activities of advisors
are moved to the bottom of priority lists. Finally, involving
advisors helps integrate access reviews into the routine procedures
of a museum. An example is in the development of exhibits. I would
also encourage museum folks to involve advisors in a second access
review after the exhibit is up and running to see how things are
really working in practice.

"Montshire staff works with advisors on access," an article
from the July/August 1998 issue of the ASTC Newsletter,
describes one museum's experiences working with people with
personal and professional experiences with disabilities in
assessing the accessibility of their exhibits.

This web site is not intended to offer legal, architectural, engineering, or similar professional advice. Refer specific questions to an attorney or an ADA authority.